SugarRush

I agree with you. KOsyan, in terms of not comparing apple to apple (RX350 vs x3). Yet, I did compare them when I was in the market for an SUV 6 months ago. For my needs, X3 is about the smallest size that I am looking for and RX350 is on the largest size I am willing to go. I test drove a lof ot other suvs in between these two, in terms of size. The new Acura MDX is not even in my list due to its size that exceeds my upper end limit (the RX), even though on paper that SH-awd technology is 'superb'.

Adding to the fact that I am looking for entry level luxury suv less than $45K OTD, it is also logical to crossshop the RX and X3 to me . The new bmw x5 and ml350 are very nice indeed, but they are around $10K more than the RX350 OTD. The price range is 'beyond' what I can spend at this point of my life

Lil4X

Very true. BMW and others are making a big deal of this, but a number of Lexus dealers offer the same "free" maintenance.

Note that on an RX, the first three big maintenance hits come at 15, 30, and 45K miles. In other words, your first two 5K visits to the dealer cost about $120, then you get to 15K and you get nailed for about $500 - then the cycle begins again. On that basis, your first 50K service is about $2500 - spread over 3-5 years. Now if you figure about a 50% markup on actual costs, the first 50K services cost the dealer about a grand. Lexus rebates a good part of the labor cost to them, so there is very little real cost in it, except for oil and filters. Most dealers will comp at least 30K of that service as a goodwill gesture, but it is not a corporate policy as it is at BMW.

Truthfully, as mandyfig noted, there's no such thing as a free lunch. That cost has to be covered somewhere - and you and I are paying for it in the sale price of the car. Same goes for that "free" coffee, juice, and soda - and all of the nice features in your Lexus dealer's waiting room, the comfy chairs, big-screen TV, etc. It gets rolled into "marketing" cost and you eventually pay for it at the checkout counter. I figure that "free" carwash I get whenever I visit the service center costs me about $90. Same thing with the "free" loaner car - the money to cover those costs to the dealer doesn't fall from the sky.

Now before you get too upset over this cost, go down and check out your neighborhood Chevy or Ford dealer. Service costs are seldom comp'ed, and while somewhat less expensive than Lexus, they are not cheap either. Waiting rooms are pretty old and nasty, filled with greasy car magazines and a pot of stale coffee that's been on the burner since last Tuesday. Your new car will probably be serviced by a mouth-breathing moron because warranty work is not a profit center for the dealership, so the least competent employees are assigned to it.

As we said before, there is no such thing as a free lunch.